Wax applicator



N0v.24, 1936. L. CABANA 4 v'2,062,6219"' WAX APPLICATOR Filed Feb. 4, 1935 170m Jam@ Patented Nov. 24, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WAX APPLICATOR tion of New York Application February 4, 1935, Serial No. 4,855

8 Claims.

My invention relates to a wax applicator, and more particularly to an applicator for applying what is known as self -shine wax to floors.

This invention is designed for use in connection with the mop-stick of an ordinary kitchen or wet mop of the type found in most homes and business places, and it is the primary object of my invention to provide an applicator which is exceedingly simple in construction and comparatively inexpensive, and when attached to an ordinary mop-stick furnishes a wax applicator at the mere cost of the applicator itself, since when combined with any ordinary mop-stick the necessary means of attachment is embodied in the mop-stick and the handle for manipulating the applicator is also furnished without cost, since it is part of the mop-stick, so called. Where a mop-stick of this type is not in use, it may be purchased at a very small cost, which, added to the cost of the applicator, would be much less than any form of wax applicator now in use.

The advantage of providing an applicator attachable to an implement which is common to every household and most business places, enables the applicator to be made comparatively small and compact so that it can be conveniently packed for shipping, and when not in use be kept in a comparatively small space in any out-ofsight place.

A further object of my invention is to provide an applicator with a rigid body-portion having a flat surface, and which is by preference constructed of sheet-metal and marginally stiffened to prevent buckling or distorting the same, thus assuring a flat face which is presented to or toward the floor so that an even distribution of the wax will be assured.

A further object of my invention is to provide an applicator having a body portion which is comparatively flat and oblong and which is provided lengthwise With a convexe-concave retainer-flange stamped from the body portion, thus permitting the same toy be stamped from sheet metal of a suitable gage, and which may have its edges reinforced by curving its marginal portions around a stiffening wire.

A further object of my invention is to provide an applicator of this type, which has a rigid body-portion of oblong formation, with its major dimension disposed transversely, and which is provided lengthwise thereon with a means for clamping the same Within the head of an ordinary kitchen or wet mop; also to provide a pocket or casing in which said body portion is inserted and through a slit or slot in which the convexoconcave retainer-flange extends so that, although said metallic body portion is fully enclosed within a pocket of preferably heavy flannel or other like material, it is directly attached to the clamping bail of an ordinary mop head.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a wax applicator in which a soft textile facing is presented to the floor, and in which facing a depression is formed extending at a right angle to the line of movement of the applicator when distributing the wax over the floor.

A still further object of my invention is the provision of a wax applicator used in connection with the mop-stick of an ordinary kitchen or wet mop, and which includes a rigid body-portion and a textile covering or facing wholly concealing said body-portion with the exception of its means of connection to the clamping bail of the mop-stick.

A still further object of my invention is to provide an implement for appplying wax to oors, which includes a mop-stick and an applicator having a rigid body-portion clamped to the mopstick, and a detachable covering for said bodyportion formed of flannel or other textile material easily removable from said body-portion for washing or otherwise cleansing the same, but preferably removable only after detachment of the rigid body-portion from the mop-stick.

With the above and other objects in view to appear hereinafter, my invention consists in the combination of a mop-stick having relatively movable elements designed to clamp a mop-cloth or swab, and an applicator provided with means for attachment to said mop-stick in the manner of securing an ordinary mop-cloth or swab thereto.

It further consists in the novel feature of construction, and in the combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the subjoined claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of my improved applicator, showing the same applied to the mopstick of an ordinary kitchen or wet mop, the upper end of the handle being broken away.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the applicator applied to a mop-stick, the same being enlarged over that shown in Figure l, and the lower end of the mop-stick only being shown.

Fig. 3 is a cross section taken through the applicator and the lower end of the mop-stick.

Fig. 4 is a cross section of the applicator removed from the mop-stick.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the body-portion be directly clamped to the clamping bail of a mopstick of the conventional type.

The particular type of mop-stick with which my invention is intended for use is now being manufactured by various concerns, some differing slightly in details of construction, but all including a wooden handle 'I and a mop-head 8 having a socket 9 into which the handle is secured. All mop-heads of this conventional type are grooved along their lower edges and each has a clampingbail I0 formed of comparatively heavy gage wire co-acting therewith, the lower or cross bar II of which is adapted to co-act with the groove in the mop-head for clamping a mop-cloth or swab between the two. This bail extends upwardly from opposite ends of the mop-head and is thence directed inwardly to form side members I2, the upper ends of which are pivotally connected to a lever I3 fastened to one of the upper convolutions of a spiral expansion-spring I4 surrounding the handle I and secured at its lower end to the socket 9. This spring is connected to the lever I3 in such relation to the pivotal connection of the bail II) to said lever that when swinging the latter upwardly and against the handle, the cross bar of the bail I will be drawn upwardly into the groove of the head 8 and be there retained. 'I'his form of mop-stick provides for movement of the cross bar of the bail away from the mop head by swinging the lever I3 downwardly, during which action the spring expands and throws the pivotal point of connection between the spring and the lever to a higher plane and the pivotal point of connection of the bail 8 to the lever I3 to a lower plane, all of which will be clearly understood in View of the fact that most kitchen or wet mops operate according to this general plan.

It is, of course, understood that when using the mop-stick as a mop, a mop-cloth or swab is clamped between the cross bar of the bail I0 and the head 8, and that it is simply necessary to remove the mop-cloth or swab from the mop-stick in order to attach my improved applicator thereto in exactly the same manner as a mop-cloth or swab is secured to the mop-stick.

My improved applicator comprises two parts, one a rigid part, which I term a body-portion and designate by the numeral I5, and the other a cover or enclosure, which I designate I6. The bodyportion is oblong in formation and when applied to the mop-stick has its major dimension disposed transversely so as toextend laterally at opposite sides beyond the head 8 of the mop-stick. I preferably stamp this rigid body-portion out of comparatively heavy gage sheet metal so that it will not easily buckle or become distorted, and it is highly essential that a ilat under surface be provided for this body-portion. Stamped upwardly from this body-portion is a flange I'I which has its upper portion recurved, as at I8, so as to form a substantially convexo-concave retainer-element. The stamping of this retainer-element or flange from the body-portion provides a comparatively wide elongated slot I9 within the body-portion, which has advantages to be hereinafter particularly pointed out. The marginal portion of this iiat metallic body-po-rtion may be reinforced so as to further stiifen the same, and to enable a gage of metal to be used lighter than would otherwise be necessary, although it will be understood that a comparatively heavy gage of metal is necessary to maintain a flat under surface for the body-portion. I preferably stiifen the body-portion around its edges by curving the marginal portions of the metal upwardly and inwardly, as at 20, around a stiifening wire 2| so that a rib is provided on the upper side of the body-portion at all sides. This curving of the metal around the stiffening wire rounds the edges of the body-portion so that the applicator will slide freely over the surface of a floor.

The enclosure or covering material may be anything capable of padding or covering the under side of the body-portion, preferably material that will absorb the wax, such as felt, or annel and other textile material. Any suitable means for retaining the covering on the body-portion may be provided, but I find the use of annel sewed in the form of a pocket 22 to be of advantage, since it enables the flat metallic body-portion to be conveniently inserted thereinto, and such pocket may be constructed by sewing together two'pieces of flannel of oblong formation, somewhat longer and wider than the body-portion, at three edges, as at 23, 24, and 25, so as to leave one end of the pocket open, as at 26. The body-portion may thus be slid into the pocket from the open end, and the conveXo-concave retainer-element thrust outwardly from the pocket through a slit, slot or other suitable opening 21 formed in the upper layer of this pocket.

The sewed marginal portions of this pocket extend beyond three edges of the body-portion, as shown at 23, and the under layer of the pocket lies snugly against the under surface of this bodyportion. The retainer-element extending out'- wardly through the pocket may be clamped between the cross bar I I of the bail IU and the head 8 of a mop-stick, as clearly shown in Figures 2 and 3, and due to the fact that the groove in the lower edge of the mop-head is concaved and the upper surface of the retainer-element of said body-portion is convex, this convex surface rides in contact with the concaved surface of said groove and enables the mop-stick to be swung at any angle without possibility of the applicator becoming accidentally disengaged from the mopstick. While the retainer-element extending through the slot or slit of the pocket will resist accidental displacement of this pocket from the body-portion, such displacement is entirely prevented after the applicator is attached to the mopstick.

While I particularly stress the advantages of use a pocket of the kind described has as a facing or covering material for the under surface of ther body-portion of the applicator, it will, o-f course, be understood that any material may be provided to cover the under surface of said bodyportion, and it may be fastened to the body-portion or clamped with the retainer element or flange cf the latter between the bail and the head of the mop-stick. Therefore, it is to be understood that it is not my intention to limit myself to the use of facing or covering material in pocket form, even though such form has advantages which covering material otherwise applied would not possess.

While my improved device may be used as a floor polisher, it would, as such, have no advantage over floor polishers now in use, and it is designed more particularly as an applicator for applying self-shine wax to a floor, either by depositing the wax, in somewhat liquid or semiliquid form, on the floor, or by depositing the wax upon the facing or covering material covering the under side of the rigid body-portion, and then distributing the wax so applied over an area of the iioor. In either case,vthe'covered -iiatlunder side of this applicator is moved back and forth over the floor so as to distribute the wax, as will be plainly seen in Figures 3 and 4. The covering material at the under side of the rigid body-portion completely covers the wide slot or opening I9 in the body-portion, with the result that movement back and forth of this applicator on the oor gradually moves wax toward the longitudinal center of the applicator, and after a short period of time during the operation of the applicator, the wax worked toward the center will force the lower layer of the pocket upwardly intothe the slot or opening I9, thus establishing a longitudinal groove in the lower layer of the covering material or pocket. Wax is therefore accumulated within this groove, which will be gradually applied to the floor after the wax on the remaining regions of the pocket is consumed, under the mere operation of the applicator.

Small areas of the floor which have not been properly covered can therefore be supplied with the necessary quantity of wax from the accumulation in the groove, thus avoiding the possibility of providing an over-supply, which would only result in waste of wax and the furnishing of an unnecessary thick coating. There will consequently be regions of the covering material which have been worked to a comparatively dry condition and a region with wax more or less moist which is always ready for use. This is especially advantageous when portions of the oor have become worn, such as at doorways or regions where walking is excessive, also Where by accident water drips, as often occurs in kitchens adjacent the sink or stove. It will therefore be apparent that my improved applicator has advantages heretofore unknown in implements of this kind, and this particular feature of my invention is as highly desirable for polishing mops as for applicators, since the accumulation of wax will gradually be consumed and the entire surface of the covering material may serve as a polishing medium.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. The combination with a conventional kitchen mop-stick having transversely extending clamping elements relatively movable to clamp an object, of a wax applicator comprising a rigid body-portion constructed of a single piece of sheet material and having a at under surface and transversely-extending means stamped from said sheet material for engagement between said clamping elements, and covering material applied to said rigid body-portion to cover the flat under surface thereof.

2. The combination with a mop-stick having transversely extending clamping elements relatively movable to clamp an object, of a wax applicator comprising a rigid body-portion constructed of a single piece of sheet material and having a flat under surface and integral means stamped from said sheet material for engagement between said clamping elements so as to permit pivotal movement of the applicator on said mopstick, and covering material applied to said rigid body-portion to cover the at under surface thereof.

3. The combination with a mop-stick having transversely extending clamping elements relatively movable to clamp an object, of a wax applicator comprising a rigid body-portion having a flat under surface and an upstanding flange provided with a `recurved portion adapted to be clamped between said clamping elements, and covering material applied to said rigid body-portion to cover the at under surface thereof.

4. An applicator for applying wax to floors adapted for connection to a conventional mopstick, comprising a rigid body-portion constructed of sheet metal having an opening stamped therein, and a retainer flange extending upwardly from one side of said opening, and having a recurved portion overhanging said opening, and covering material covering to the under side of said body-portion.

5. An applicator for applying wax to floors, comprising a flat oblong body-portion formed of sheet metal and having an opening lengthwise therein and an integral upstanding ange at one side of said opening provided with a recurved portion overhanging said opening and adapted to be clamped in a conventional mop-stick, and a pocket formed of textile material enclosing said body-portion and having an opening therein through which said ange extends.

6. An applicator for applying wax to floors, comprising a flat oblong body-portion formed of sheet metal having its marginal portions upwardly recurved and enclosing stiifening wire and being provided with an opening lengthwise and an integral upstanding flange at one side of said opening provided with a recurved portion overhanging said opening, and a pocket formed of textile material enclosing said body-portion, said flange forming a rigid connector enabling the applicator to be clamped within the mop-head of a conventional mop-stick.

7. An applicator for applying wax to floors, comprising a flat oblong body-portion formed of sheet metal having its marginal portion stiffened and being provided with an opening lengthwise, and a pocket of textile material into which said body-portion is inserted, said pocket covering the opening in said body-portion and being adapted to be forced thereinto under use of the applicator to allow the accumulation of wax along the central region thereof, and means to permit the applicator to be attached to the mop head of a conventional mop-stick.

8. An applicator for applying wax to floors, comprising a fiat oblong body-portion formed of sheet metal having an opening arranged lengthwise therein and an integral flange extending upwardly therefrom at the side of said opening and recurved at its upper end to overhang said opening, said recurved portion being adapted to be clamped between the clamping members of a conventional mop-stick, and a pocket of textile material closed at three sides and open at its fourth to permit the insertion of said body-portion thereinto, the under side of said pocket closing the opening in said body-portion and the upper side thereof having a slit through which said flange extends, the under side of said pocket being adapted to gradually enter the opening in said body-portion under application of wax to a floor so as to form an elongated depression in said pocket adapted to accumulate wax capable of being applied and distributed by regions at opposite sides of said depression under operation of said applicator.

LOUIS CABANA. 

